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The Old Fashioned Art of Writing Letters and Journals

With so many new ways of keeping in touch, why exactly would one want to write letters? There might not be any satisfactory answer to it. But letter writing makes one feel cared for. The very fact that someone actually sat down and wrote five handwritten pages for a person that is far away, signifies that one plays an important role in their life. Why else would anyone sit down for an hour to write that letter and then take the trouble of going to the post-office to send that letter, when in the same time you could have written 20 tweets or more. Sending and receiving letters are also the cheaper alternate to travel. Pen pals often send each other tokens and souvenirs through mails, exchange cultural stories, tell each other about their age old tradition and exchange multiple secrets. Of course the internet has more access to the number of people and therefore more access to other cultures. However, it is always less personal. You may have more than 500 people in your friend list, but how many are you actually familiar with? And when was the last time you had a real heart to heart with them?

Letters and journals have more privacy and personalization. Since everyone has an increasing internet foot print, hackers have focused more on breaking in to people’s virtual accounts rather than actual space. So turns out, the real space is more secure than the virtual space where you befriend a thousand people you don’t even know. The new generation may probably not even be aware of what journal writing is. But the truth is, it is the best way to vent out your thoughts. People are getting angrier everyday because they have all the ideas, but no honest feedback. Writing journals help one keeping in touch with their thoughts. What people lack these days are some private time where they can think. Writing down your thoughts can help you get to know yourself. Journal writing don’t necessarily have to be about your whole routine nor do they have to be extremely regular as is the popular misconception. You can write down any random thought or the dream you had last night anywhere in your journal and you can read it like a haphazard memoir. It’s for your own private viewing after all.

Letters and journals promote a heartfelt moment with your pen pal or yourself. The anticipation and joy of receiving letters is like no other. You wait for weeks at a time and when you receive a little envelope with artistic stamps and a handwritten note, the delight is like no other. Postcards are another form of keeping in touch. They’re bright, colourful and have beautiful pictures of famous places in the city. China actually introduced a new series of postcards with pictures of food, where receivers can actually smell the dish. Now that’s innovation.

It might not be easy to convince why writing letters and journals is a delightful experience. But those who actually do might understand why the practice of old fashioned writing has not died down as yet. Even though the postal departments of many countries are facing losses, the efforts of a few have kept the industry going.